A Ponzi is a Ponzi is a Ponzi unless you are the government

Bernard Madoff has pulled off what many thought could never be pulled off. He has duped investors of a reported $50 billion dollars. Yes, that is 50 BILLION! It is said that this is a record and the largest Ponzi scheme in the history of finance.

Now what does this have to do with liberty and freedom? A lot. If you were one of the unfortunate people or organization's that invested money with this guy, chances are you have taken a huge, monumental hit. Some people and organizations may have to go bankrupt. Their financial security and liberty has been threatened.

But that is only a small part of the issue. The government, obviously, wants to come down hard on this individual. Why? Because he pulled off something that was previously thought impossible. Madoff duped some of the wealthiest in our nation. It is reported, one individual may be out as much as $500 million dollars.

You may say, about time that the rich got hit. Well let me tell you something about that. The rich create jobs in this country. Not the poor and not the government unless you become a government employee. The rich are suffering in this economic downturn just like the rest of us and to have someone dupe you out of the money you earned no matter how much is simply wrong.

But is Madoff the biggest fraud going? Not by far. Our government now runs the largest Ponzi scheme in the history of the world. It is called Social Security. And the numbers are staggering. You would not believe the amount of money that has disappeared from the government's books when it comes to this "fund".

Lets start with a little history. FDR, the wonderful president of the Great Depression, set up this fund to help people with retirement. It was anticipated that people would pay the government over their working life and upon retirement, that same government would give you back your money in small amounts for the rest of your life.

There are a number of problems with this and these problems were built into the system from the beginning. This ensured that at some point in the future, the whole plan would fall apart. The question is, how much will the demise of this system damage our nation and government? If the Madoff issue is any indication, we could expect our government to go bankrupt. No Joke! What does a bankrupt Federal Government mean for you and me? Loss of our freedom, liberty and maybe even our Constitution and with that our nation and way of life.

The first person to receive Social Security retirement benefits was one Ida May Fuller of Vermont. She began receiving benefits in January 1940 after reaching 65 years of age in the year of 1939. Miss Fuller contributed under $25 dollars to the system. So by all accounts, how the system was said to have worked, she should have gotten no more than that $25 dollars.

At least that is what a logical and sane person would believe. In reality what Miss Fuller got was well over $22,000 dollars. Granted being of sturdy and stout New England stock, Miss Fuller lived to the ripe old age of 100. However, notice how she collected 1000 times more than she put in. How can this be?

How does this factor in to the modern times of today? Well at one point there were over 20 working people supporting 1 retiree on Social Security. The way our nation is aging, it is predicted that number will shrink to as few as 3 working people supporting 1 retiree. Now in order to do that, you must be taxed more. But how can this be if the money you are putting into the system is YOUR money?

It is not your money. In fact, if you actually were to view the books of the Social Security fund, you would see a big fat zero. Where has all that money gone? It has gone into the general fund to reduce the deficit and to pay current retirees and other recipients getting Social Security benefits.

At some point, there will be not enough people to support such a massive payout. This is how Ponzi schemes fall apart. At some point there is no more money that can come in. So the people who get in later cannot get what they put into the plan. The same with Social Security. Your financial liberty and indeed, our nations' freedom is at risk here.

Yet at every turn, Congress has blocked any and all attempts to "fix" this eventual problem. If you think the current bail out is expensive, just wait until Social Security needs a bail out. I would suggest that anyone under the age of 50 not expect to get a single dime of Social Security money. View it as a tax and that money is gone forever. You mush take care of your own needs in retirement.

In order to be free, in order to have liberty, you cannot have any part of your life dependent on government. It is not governments responsibility to take care you or me. Otherwise, you risk losing all of your freedom. And, America, unless there is a change in this massive Ponzi scheme, you and I will lose what ever freedom and liberty we currently have and enjoy.

Some further reading for you:

The Deal.com

How Stuff Works

International Society for Individual Liberty

EHow.com